In the highly developed information society, communication operators provide subscribers with various information services, such as telephone service, Internet-access service, short-message service, as well as different charging methods.
Typical charging methods include but not limited to the following:
1. Duration-based charging: i.e. the charging is based upon the time that the subscriber spends in using the service, such as the telephone service. One charging method is that during the use of the service, the charge per unit time is identical, and the charge of the session service at a time is calculated according to the duration. Another charging method is that the entire use of the service is charged according to time segments, and the charge per unit time for each of the time segments is different, for example, the charging rate is 0.2 yuan/minute for the first minutes and 0.3 yuan/minute after 3 minutes. Then the charging is performed according to the relationships between the duration and the time segments and using the different charges per unit time. For example, the charging method is 0.2 yuan/minute for 0-3 minutes and 0.1 yuan/minute after 3 minutes. If the duration is 15 minutes, then the charge is 3*0.2+12*0.1=1.8 yuan.
2. Traffic-based charging: it is mainly used for the Internet-access service, and the charging is based upon the quantity of data transferred during the service used by the subscriber. One charging method is that during the use of the service, the charge per unit traffic is identical, and the charge of the service is calculated according to the total traffic. Another charging method is based upon traffic segments for the use of the service, and the charge per unit traffic is different in each of the traffic segments, for example, the charge rate is 0.2 yuan/KB for the first 1 MB and 0.1 yuan/KB after 1 MB, and then the total charge is calculated according to the relationships between the total traffic used by the subscriber and the traffic segments and using the different charges per unit traffic. For example, the charging rate is based on 0.2 yuan/KB for 0-1 MB and 0.1 yuan/KB after 1 MB. If 1.5 MB is used, then the charge is 1024*0.2+0.5*1024*0.1=256 yuan.
3. Number-of-times-based charging: the short message service and the call transfer service are mostly used at present, i.e. the charge of the service used each time is determined according to the number of times that service is used.
4. Accumulative charging: the charging is based upon the total quantity of the accumulative duration, traffic or number of times for a certain service used by the subscriber, the unit charge before the total quantity reaches the prescribed accumulative quantity is different from that after the total quantity reaches the prescribed accumulative quantity. For example, in the Internet-access service, the charging rate is 1.0 yuan/hour within a 100-hour accumulative Internet-access duration and 0.5 yuan/hour after a 100-hour accumulative Internet-access duration. For example, if the accumulative Internet-access duration is 70 hours, and the duration of the certain Internet-access is 15 hours, then the charge is 15*1.0=15 yuan due to 70+15<100.
Though the above charging methods meet various charging demands to some extent, they have the following drawbacks:
(1) Lack of generality: one charging method is often devoted to one service. When a new service is provided, it is often impossible to meet the charging demands in the existing charging system, and therefore the existing charging method has to be modified or new charging software has to be developed. For example, if the function of “accumulative charging” is to be added to a “duration-based charging” system, and a reward of 10-hour free Internet-access duration is for a 100-hour accumulative Internet-access duration, the existing charging method has to be modified.
(2) Complexity and disaccord of configuration methods: different charging methods have different configuration methods. It is required for the subscribers to consider how to convert the charging method into a data structure that can be processed by the software, whereas it is required for the developers to consider how to design a software to meet different charging demands, which is one of the major reasons why it is necessary to modify the existing software or develop a new software in a new charging method.
(3) Inflexibility of rate configuration methods: for example, a charging demand is that 1.0 yuan/hour is for the Internet-access, and a reward of 10-hour free duration is for accumulative 100-hour Internet-access duration. If the accumulative Internet-access duration of the subscriber is 98 hours and the current Internet-access duration is 3 hours, then there are two applicable charging methods:
One method is that the charge of the current 3-hour Internet-access is 3*1.0=3 yuan, and the reward of 10-hour free duration will be used during the next Internet-access until the free hours are used up, which is referred to as “later use of reward”.
The other method is that for the current 3-hour Internet-access, the charge is 2*1.0=2 yuan for the 2 hours which is counted within the accumulative 100 hours, and the rest 1 hour which is counted beyond the accumulative 100 hours takes the free duration of the reward and thus is not charged. Therefore, the charge is 2*1.0+1*0=2.0 yuan for the current Internet-access, while the remaining free Internet-access duration is recorded as 9 hours for later use, which is referred to as “instant use of reward.
However, if either method is determined, the charging method cannot be changed to the other; otherwise, the software has to be modified.
Furthermore, the existing charging methods are often devoted to some services, i.e. the charging method for one service is quite different from that for another. Therefore, if the operator provides a new service, a new charging method has to be customized, which not only increases the cost for the operator but also results in the disorder of the charging software in the market. Therefore, in order to meet the demands of the operators to develop services, it is rather advantageous for the operators and the subscribers to provide a uniform configuration and calculation method for all the charging methods and to further achieve a general charging method in a uniform structure.